EC works for me:)

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Brace yourself; our four month old son goes pee on the potty. I know, its insane. So here's how it all went down...

When Greyson was first born and I was looking into alternative forms of diapers (ie. gdiapers.com) I discovered along the way that there is a relatively unknown potty-training technique called "Elimination Communication" (go ahead, google it). After reading more about it and watching youtube videos about it; I talked to Brandon about how crazy it was and kind of cool. Much to my surprise, Brandon was on board and at 5 days old, we started taking Greyson to the potty (or shower, or large bowl) when he was exhibiting signs that he needed to eliminate....aaaand it worked!

The theory behind EC is that babies, just like animals, have it ingrained in them that they do not want to eliminate where they sleep (think puppies), so when they are super tiny they are perfectly content and still unless they have to eliminate. So, when Greyson would start wiggling around or "talking" I knew he a) had to go to the bathroom or b)was about to spit up. After a few times, I could tell the difference between spit-up-wiggling and eliminating-wiggling. It wasn't training Greyson about potty training - it was training me & B!

Imagine us, cracking up in amazement as our week old son was "using" the potty. Insanity. So we continued using EC for a few days until we realized that a) it took serious observation on our part b) babies have to pee like a trillion times a day...so we stopped using EC and went back to gdiapers & normal diapers out of laziness.

Jump forward 4 months and Greyson has moved into size 2 diapers now and I am just so tired of throwing diapers away. It really makes my stomach turn to think of how much waste we are contributing to the earth...so I went out and bought Grey a little potty and we've started up with EC again. I don't know if its because somewhere in his little baby brain he remembers his first few weeks of life when we started EC or what, but the kid knows exactly what the potty is for. It's insane all over again. This time it is a little bit of training for the both of us. Since Grey is used to using a diaper, he doesnt' show the same kind of signs like he did when he was a tiny baby. Now, I just know that I need to take Greyson to the potty during specific times of the day and he seems like he would much rather go in the potty than sit in a wet diaper (it's pretty obvious at how much he smiles during & after).

In case you were wondering, he is definitely still wearing a diaper for any accidents or poo, but we go to the potty before and after naps and after he eats. We also started signing the word "potty" and he happily goes pee in the potty like a big boy and is done with it. He did so well this morning that I was able to put the same diaper on him three times in a row because he didn't even use it all morning!

FAQ
Q: Is your son a boy genius?
A: Obviously we think so! hahha. But no, we really believe that its just about paying attention to what Grey was already trying to tell us. Plus, he still uses his diaper, he's not a grown man for goodness sakes!

Q: Are you joking?
A: No. I'd post pictures but that seems inappropriate and I'm fairly certain that teenage Greyson would never speak to me if he found out I was posting pics/vids of him using the potty online.

Q: Whats the sign for potty?
A: We use the baby sign for "toilet" which is the ASL "T" (your thumb between your index & middle finger) and then you shake it back and forth, while saying "potty"

Q: How do you know he needs to go to the bathroom?
A: Most of the time, I don't. I take him at the same times again and again (before&after naps, and after eating). Sometimes when he gets randomly wiggly or a little fussy I take him and that was the reason he was acting up. It will be a lot easier when he is able to use his hands to sign "potty" to me, but for now, its just me signing it to him each time we go.

Q: Does he go to the bathroom everytime you take him?
A: No. But I sit him down and give him a few seconds to see if he needs to. Sometimes he goes, but sometimes he doesn't.

Q: Is it worth it?
A: this is a loaded question...
-Is it worth it to the environment: right now, kind of. We are still using diapers though (not at the same rate of wastefulness) but we are still using them.
-Is it worth it to Grey: I think. He seems to be happy & proud after he uses the potty, but I would imagine he wouldn't care that much to still be using a diaper exclusively either
-Is it worth it to us: um, right this second, its a pain because Greyson can't walk there himself, can't take off his own clothes, nor can he use the potty exclusively, so we have a lot of work & still change diapers. But if it eliminates the need to potty train a 3 or 4 year old and the cost of diapers in a few months..then hell yes.

Q: Do you think this is as bizarre as I (the reader) think it is?
A: um, YES. I think its insane and kind of embarassing to write about because, seriously...who does this? But its working and I like sharing helpful tips and new ideas. So take it how you like, but know we think its totally weird but totally awesome.